Setting Root Notes and Tuning

About the Root Key

All instrument sounds have an inherent pitch. When playing a sample of such a sound on the keyboard, the keys you play must correspond to that pitch. For example, you may have recorded a piano playing the key “C3”. When you map this onto the NN-XT key map, you must set things up so that the sampler plays back the sample at original pitch when you press the key C3.

This is done by adjusting the root note.

Many samples files from different sources already have a set root key in the file. If they do, the root key will be correctly set automatically when you load the sample into a zone.

However if the sample doesn’t have a root note stored in the file, (if you for example have recorded it yourself) you will need to adjust it

Setting the Root Note manually

To set the root key for a zone, proceed as follows:

Make sure the zone has edit focus (for example by clicking on it), and do one of the following:

Use the knob marked “Root” in the sample parameter area below the display.

Turning it to the right will raise the pitch of the root key. The selected key is displayed alphanumerically directly above the knob, and you can also look at the keyboard area for a visual indication (see below).

Press [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) and click on the desired root key in the keyboard area.

The set root key is shaded so you can easily distinguish it.

Tuning samples manually

In addition to setting the root note, you may need to fine tune your samples, in order for them to match other instruments and/or each other:

Make sure the zone has edit focus (for example by clicking on it).

Use the knob marked “Tune” in the sample parameter area.

This allows you to tune each sample in a key map by +/– half a semitone (-50 – 0 – 50).

Setting the Root Note and Tuning using pitch detection

The NN-XT features a pitch detection function to help you set the root keys. This is useful if you for example load a sample that you haven’t recorded yourself, and you don’t have any information about its original pitch.

Proceed as follows:

1.	Select all the zones you want to be subject to pitch detection.

2.	Pull down the Edit menu or the NN-XT context menu and select “Set Root Notes from Pitch Detection”.

The samples in all the selected zones will now be analyzed, and the detected root keys will automatically be set for you.

Note that for this to work properly, the samples must have some form of perceivable pitch. If it is sampled speech, or a snare drum for example, it probably doesn’t have any discernible pitch.

About changing the pitch of samples

The procedures above should be used to make sure the samples are consistently pitched across the keyboard, and that they all match an absolute reference (for example A 440 tuning).

If you need to tune the samples to match other material, or to get a certain effect (for example detuning two sounds against each other for a chorus effect) you should use the Pitch section among the synth parameters, not the sample tuning parameters.